Dune: Parts One and Two, 2021 & 2024

Putting two movies in one entry is not cheating if those movies are meant to be watched in a single sitting, and I firmly believe Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic is a back-to-backer. Dune: Part One and Part Two take on what is largely considered the headiest, most difficult-to-adapt science fiction universe: Frank Herbert’s Dune. One director (Alejandro Jodorowsky) tried and failed to turn the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s science fiction novels into a science fiction film (though the legacy of that failed film can be found in Star Wars, Alien, and beyond), while another (David Lynch) successfully made one that he pretty much openly hates.

But Villeneuve manages to succeed where other men failed, bringing Herbert’s heady first novel to the big screen with scale, splendor, and style. Though I’d argue there is more visual deliciousness in Part Two (like spacesuit-clad figures silently floating up off of the sands of Arrakis to mount an attack, or every single black-and-white scene set on Giedi Prime, planet whose sun blanches color from everything), Part One effectively sets the stage for the creation of a Messiah—the stranger in a strange land, the othering, the evil machinations of those determined to tear down a good man. There is so much more I could say about Dune (the incredible performances from its star-studded cast, the insanely cool set design, the costumes that I have daydreams about), but the simplest thing to say is: it fucking slaps. — Alyssa Mercante